News

The plain, boxy appearance of Fantasy Building on 10th Street conceals the glamorous work that goes on inside. Most recently, the building’s studios have contributed to this month’s release of three films on DVD.
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A stir of excitement sparked Oakland Ballet’s season opener this month. While the East Bay’s other major dance company, Diablo Ballet, struggles on life support because of recent economic times, the Oakland troupe is thriving. Its success is due largely to artistic director Karen Brown’s energetic leadership and a dedicated board of directors.
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A 43-7 win is usually a cause for celebration. But the Berkeley High coaches tore into their players after winning by that score over Kennedy High on Friday, citing a lackluster performance and poor discipline.
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Student conduct hearings for 32 pro-Palestinian protesters who participated in the April takeover of UC Berkeley’s Wheeler Hall start Monday amid controversy over the public’s right to observe them.
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For more than a quarter century native American Rosemary Cambra has provided a voice for her people. This week, Cambra, chairwoman for the Bay Area's Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, brought her message to Berkeley, where she urged the city to preserve and protect local burial grounds under University Avenue at the train tracks near Fourth Street.
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Berkeley mayor Shirley Dean and challenger Tom Bates, a former state Assemblyman, are within a few percentage points in the race for voter support, according to a poll commissioned by the mayor’s office.
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DAKAR, Senegal — More than 760 people were believed dead Friday after an ocean ferry capsized off West Africa in a fierce gale, with 88 victims recovered and bodies of others spotted trapped inside.
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OAKLAND – A rookie Oakland police officer was in stable condition at Highland Hospital Friday after being shot in the head by a unknown man in area of city known for having problems with drugs and prostitution, police say.
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In 1906 The West Berkeley Development Company, whose partners were involved with the Claremont and Northbrae subdivisions and were later part of the Mason McDuffie Company, subdivided the San Pablo Park tract in south west Berkeley. The residential subdivision begins one block east of San Pablo Avenue and is located between Russell and Ward streets.
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SAN FRANCISCO — The association representing shipping lines on Friday locked out longshoremen at all West Coast ports until Sunday morning as contract negotiations with the dock worker’s union deteriorated into a labor disruption that will immediately curtail the flow of Asian goods across the United States.
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SAN FRANCISCO — Michael Newdow, the California father who convinced a federal appeals court to declare the Pledge of Allegiance an unconstitutional endorsement of religion when recited in public classrooms, urged that court Friday to let its June 26 ruling stand.
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GARDEN GROVE — Republicans gathered for the first day of their semiannual state convention Friday hoping to give their beleaguered gubernatorial nominee, Bill Simon, a push to Election Day Nov. 5.
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The plain, boxy appearance of Fantasy Building on 10th Street conceals the glamorous work that goes on inside. Most recently, the building’s studios have contributed to this month’s release of three films on DVD.
-more-

Student conduct hearings for 32 pro-Palestinian protesters who participated in the April takeover of UC Berkeley’s Wheeler Hall start Monday amid controversy over the public’s right to observe them.
-more-

Berkeley mayor Shirley Dean and challenger Tom Bates, a former state Assemblyman, are within a few percentage points in the race for voter support, according to a poll commissioned by the mayor’s office.
-more-

DAKAR, Senegal — More than 760 people were believed dead Friday after an ocean ferry capsized off West Africa in a fierce gale, with 88 victims recovered and bodies of others spotted trapped inside.
-more-

DAKAR, Senegal — More than 760 people were believed dead Friday after an ocean ferry capsized off West Africa in a fierce gale, with 88 victims recovered and bodies of others spotted trapped inside.
-more-

DAKAR, Senegal — More than 760 people were believed dead Friday after an ocean ferry capsized off West Africa in a fierce gale, with 88 victims recovered and bodies of others spotted trapped inside.
-more-

DAKAR, Senegal — More than 760 people were believed dead Friday after an ocean ferry capsized off West Africa in a fierce gale, with 88 victims recovered and bodies of others spotted trapped inside.
-more-

DAKAR, Senegal — More than 760 people were believed dead Friday after an ocean ferry capsized off West Africa in a fierce gale, with 88 victims recovered and bodies of others spotted trapped inside.
-more-

DAKAR, Senegal — More than 760 people were believed dead Friday after an ocean ferry capsized off West Africa in a fierce gale, with 88 victims recovered and bodies of others spotted trapped inside.
-more-

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel tried to kill the mastermind of the Hamas bombing campaign Thursday, firing two missiles into a car in crowded Gaza City. Two bodyguards died and 35 bystanders were wounded in the helicopter attack, but the fate of the Palestinian militant remained uncertain. Hamas promised revenge.
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OAKLAND – A leader in Oakland's Nation of Islam community appeared briefly in Alameda County Superior Court this morning but did not enter plea to a charge that he allegedly molested a 13-year-old girl 20 years ago.
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Berkeley resident Harrod Blank, 39, was embarrassed to be seen driving a plain white 1965 Volkswagen bug. So he painted a rooster on it. It reminded him of the chickens he grew up with near the Santa Cruz Mountains. But he didn’t stop there.
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They come from Canada, they do fantastic things with trapezes and the human body, they use no animals in their act—and no, they are not Cirque du Soleil. The performance troupe that has descended on Zellerbach Hall is Cirque Eloize, and it is a phenomenon all its own.
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Berkeley High School’s African-American studies department has been reinstatement, said department Chairman Robert McKnight to wild cheers at a dramatic Board of Education meeting Wednesday night.
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The Cal football team is facing adversity for the first time this season following a 23-21 loss to Air Force last weekend. But the Bears haven’t lost any confidence following their first setback of the season.
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YAMOUSSOUKRO, Ivory Coast — Waving U.S. flags and shouting ’Vive la France!,” American schoolchildren escaped a rebel-held Ivory Coast city under siege Wednesday, as U.S. special forces and French troops moved in to rescue Westerners caught in the West African nation’s bloodiest uprising.
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MORGAN HILL — Flames burned toward dozens of homes nestled in remote neighborhoods of the lushly forested Santa Cruz Mountains on Wednesday, with firefighters struggling in 90-degree heat to control one of the area’s largest wildfires in decades.
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BERKELEY — University of California, Berkeley, was awarded a $2.1 million federal grant Wednesday to study the economic impact of smoking prevention efforts in China, the largest consumer of tobacco products in the world.
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SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Gray Davis cleared the way Wednesday for Californians to sue gun manufacturers if they believe the companies have been negligent in the advertising or production of firearms.
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SAN FRANCISCO — Businesses and institutions who bypassed their local utilities to buy cheaper electricity from power sellers would have to pay a surcharge to help the state repay its energy debts, under a plan put forward by the state’s energy regulators Wednesday.
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SAN FRANCISCO — A television news report that a major component of the city’s emergency water system had been neglected for more than a decade is prompting changes and a fire department investigation into how the system came to be neglected.
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NEW YORK - The faces said it all. No beaming smiles, only frozen stares. The 252 performers standing on stage at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City had just completed the world premiere of John Adams' “On the Transmigration of Souls,” a meditative tribute to the victims, survivors and heroes of Sept. 11.
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OAKLAND – An attorney for one of three former Oakland police officers on trial for criminal misconduct began his attempt Tuesday to chip away at the credibility of a key prosecution witness in Alameda County Superior Court.
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OAKLAND – Preliminary statistics culled from U.S. Department of Justice records show that Oakland ranked fourth last year in the number of homicides among cities approximately the same size and could place higher next year given the rash of recent killings.
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SAN JOSE — Democratic Gov. Gray Davis postponed a second fund-raiser amid sharpened attacks from Republican opponent Bill Simon slamming him for raising money from special interests while considering legislation important to those groups.
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SAN FRANCISCO — Next month, some of the best minds in stem cell science will gather at a conference in San Diego to exchange notes, opinions and suggestions on how to invigorate a promising but struggling research field.
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After months of negotiations, Berkeley has reached a tentative six-year contract with its four municipal labor unions representing 60 percent of the city’s work force, city and union leaders said Monday.
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Recently the City Council heard a request from members of the community to place a charter amendment on the November ballot requiring the school district to conduct performance audits. The city attorney responded by asking an attorney with experience in this area for an opinion as to whether the city has the power to do this. The reply was that the district is already required to provide a “yearly audit of its books and performance,” and that there was no evidence that the current audit structure needed to be fixed or that the request to require a performance audit was workable. As a consequence, the proposal was derailed and sent to the Joint City-School District “2x2” Committee and the superintendent of schools. The council also directed staff to seek a further opinion from the Attorney General.
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SAN FRANCISCO — Al Gore harshly criticized President Bush’s push for war against Iraq, saying it has hurt the United States’ standing and could dangerously undermine the rule of law around the world.
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Purchasing a home can be a complex process, especially for first-time homebuyers. There are many forms to read and fill out, including termite inspections, appraisals, and of course, financing details. One form that is often passed on to the buyer is an acceptance of the responsibility for compliance with the Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance (RECO).
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SAN FRANCISCO — The state Department of Transportation has reversed course on how it will comply with a judge’s order to treat U.S. flags and banners the same, saying Monday it now will remove them all from highway overpasses because of concerns about safety.
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Berkeley police say they are looking for people who may have witnessed an armed robbery at the Cambridge Sound Works store at 2350 Shattuck Ave., Sept. 15, even though witnesses may not have known what was going on.
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For three weeks the Cal football team took advantage of just about every opportunity it had. On Saturday against Air Force Academy, missing out on those opportunities cost the Golden Bears their undefeated season.
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For a city that has changed immeasurably since its hippie heyday, Telegraph Avenue can sometimes seem a land suspended in time. But some peace activists say that after this weekend, it will never be the same.
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LA VERNE — A wildfire in the foothills above Los Angeles jumped from 8,000 acres to 12,000 acres in just a few hours Tuesday, sending smoke pouring over the sprawling metropolitan area and triggering public health warnings.
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WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is seriously considering lowering the nationwide terror alert back to code yellow because of disruptions in the al-Qaida terrorist network, including the arrest of a suspected Sept. 11 plotter, government officials said Monday.
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